Alternative/Rock Rough Mix - Looking for advice

[frohgg]

Hey,

Just a wannabe. Here's a rough mix. It sounds very "closed" and muddled to me still, but don't really know where to go to open it up and give it that sparkle. Looking for some constructive criticism.

Thanks.

J

[Sonic Julez]

It's actually quite good, as in original and dynamic.
A few easy fixes I'd suggest:
- Put a low cut on the guitar around 170 Hz, making room for the bass.
- Give more punch to the bass drum. This song begs for a more 'clicky' sound.
- Record the guitar part a second time and pan both parts, thus giving you room to widen things up a little (a lot)
- What's with the chorusses? I can only hear guiar voice and hi-hat. You've got to give the other instruments some space to live.

[frohgg]

Originally Posted by Sonic Julez

It's actually quite good, as in original and dynamic.
A few easy fixes I'd suggest:
- Put a low cut on the guitar around 170 Hz, making room for the bass.
- Give more punch to the bass drum. This song begs for a more 'clicky' sound.
- Record the guitar part a second time and pan both parts, thus giving you room to widen things up a little (a lot)
- What's with the chorusses? I can only hear guiar voice and hi-hat. You've got to give the other instruments some space to live.

Good feedback. Yeah I was having trouble with the bass, given that the bass player was playing with all his pedals and he lacked definition. I tracked the band live, and then went back with some overdubs (obviously) and left the drum tracks (snare, kick, 2 ohs). I'll give it a whirl and post back, I'm really looking to hone my mixing ability, so any other general critiques (about the mixing, not the playing :-) Would be great.

[Sonic Julez]

Originally Posted by frohgg

Good feedback. Yeah I was having trouble with the bass, given that the bass player was playing with all his pedals and he lacked definition.

That explains a lot
Next time you might want to record a DI-signal pre-effects also.

[Beyersound]

Originally Posted by Sonic Julez

That explains a lot
Next time you might want to record a DI-signal pre-effects also.

+1, good advice! It is is great that you have a live track, but don't be afraid to overdub and replace. Is that vocal in a booth or in the room, live with everything else?

[jhanse]

My guess is a booth... Different reverb, right?

[frohgg]

Originally Posted by Beyersound

+1, good advice! It is is great that you have a live track, but don't be afraid to overdub and replace. Is that vocal in a booth or in the room, live with everything else?

Vox were overdubbed, tracked in a booth...but I could only get 2 takes out of the singer before she wanted to leave, I would have liked to do some different things, but she wanted me to preserve a "semi live" feel. And on the other hand I don't think she cared all that much. This is going on a "live" video, and she's pretty concerned with how it looks, not how it sounds. *shrug*

Bass was overdubbed also, but to the point made above, I should have insisted on a DI feed. Again only 2 takes. (excuses, I know).

Guitars were overdubbed. To me it still feels muddied up in the middle and I'd like to have better "imaging"...there's just that elusive "sparkle" in the mix, live or not that I know someone better than I could get a little of at least.

[jhanse]

Originally Posted by frohgg

This is going on a "live" video, and she's pretty concerned with how it looks, not how it sounds.

She's a step ahead of us all in the music business!! She knows what counts, she does!!

It sounds cool though... I think you should just balance out the dynamics on the vocals... and like the posts above said, define the low end.

Good luck!

Jan

[mark.james]

+1 on vox dynamics... the vocals actually irked me a little.

[frohgg]

Originally Posted by mark.james

+1 on vox dynamics... the vocals actually irked me a little.

How would you go about doing that? In other words, what do you mean specifically. Sorry for the newb question, I just want to make sure I understand what you're saying.

[DeadInMagazines]

They mean use more compression on the vocals, so they're not all over the place volumewise.

[telejustin]

Stream of consciousness:

1. Boxy room sound in the drums. Do a little carving to give them clarity. Some compression to bring them forward and tighten then up.

2. Drums are too quiet. OH's are almost too loud.

3. Pan the guitars! Or, do more than you did. Leave room in the middle for the bass and vocal.

4. The vocals maybe don't need more compression, just to be automated. I actually like how everything picks up in the chorus. While it's a little too much, I thought it was exciting and unexpected.

5. What everyone else said...

[Beyersound]

Originally Posted by DeadInMagazines

They mean use more compression on the vocals, so they're not all over the place volumewise.

+1! When in doubt, squash those vocals!!!!

[frohgg]

Originally Posted by TroyTempest

lmao, I love female vocalist like this, I instantly think they sound Liberal I know that might not make sense. But I just always see some slightly overweight red headed feminist with a nose ring.

The track is bad in my opinion, I normally try to take it ez on mixes and focus more on the songs production. I feel like I have said this too much, A good song is still a good song with a crappy recording.

lets talk about this thing she is doing, this like slow slope down the bad octave highway makes me laugh out loud! that could be looked at as a good thing because its hard to make me laugh. But I don't think it was her intention, and did you notice the back up vocals sound like crap?

And the #1 tip I can give to her is, if you cant hit the low note, don't try.


Musically I would say I like the intro guitar but she comes in like the temptations with her mindless OHHH OHHH OHHHHHHH's on the 3rd bar....

When she screams "Scream and shout about it" LMAO! I respect Females and I respect Vocalist, but spare me.

Hope I helped!!!

Troy.

Haha, I think there's a little nose ring wearing feminism there for sure. I agree with the vocals aspect. I didn't have any real say in production whatsoever.

Those aren't actually background vox, it's the vocal bleed from the OH's from the original live take. I tried gating them out as best I could (for like 15 minutes) but didn't get it good. Like I said, she wanted this done...last year.

As for "this track is bad"...do you mean the mixing part of it? If so, I'm more than welcoming any criticism. What could I have done better on my part, just being the guy pushing buttons?